The present application relates generally to an improved data processing system and method. More specifically, the present application is directed to performing collective operations using flow control between communicating nodes and collective acceleration units.
Ongoing advances in distributed multi-processor computer systems have continued to drive improvements in the various technologies used to interconnect processors, as well as their peripheral components. As the speed of processors has increased, the underlying interconnect, intervening logic, and the overhead associated with transferring data to and from the processors have all become increasingly significant factors impacting performance. Performance improvements have been achieved through the use of faster networking technologies (e.g., Gigabit Ethernet), network switch fabrics (e.g., Infiniband, and RapidIO®), TCP offload engines, and zero-copy data transfer techniques (e.g., remote direct memory access). Efforts have also been increasingly focused on improving the speed of host-to-host communications within multi-host systems. Such improvements have been achieved in part through the use of high-speed network and network switch fabric technologies.